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Mar. 14th, 2019 09:45 pmSome of you may recall that time I discovered a perfect lost book two years ago by a mid-century author I had never heard of and immediately decided to embark upon a quest to read everything Audrey Erskine Lindop had ever written.
This turned out to be more difficult than anticipated, but after several years, I finally found a copy of another one of her books in the wild: The Singer Not The Song (1953), which is marketed on the cover flap as a deeply intense personal struggle! for the soul of a small town! between a priest! and a bandit! "The fact that they grow to like and respect one another in the course of their conflict adds considerably to its tension and excitement!" announces the back cover flap!
"Well, that sounds like it could be PRETTY gay," thought I, "but I don't want to assume. After all, The Way to the Lantern, while AMAZING, was not notably gay."
The determined priest Father Keogh meets the bandit Malo, who loves only cats (and is rumored to turn into one at night)!
[Father Keogh] was not prepared for the beauty he saw in Malo, explains the book, and then goes on for a paragraph about his bone structure!
That night, Father Keogh has his first Intense Malo Dream:
He turned round to ask for silence and when he turned round again he had his arms about the shoulders of Malo. [...] He gave Malo his Roman collar. The sword that Malo gave him in exchange was real. He could feel the heat of Malo's cheek pressed closely against his own [...]
"OKAY," I announced to myself, and also to Twitter, "I now feel safe assuming!"
Father Keogh is determined to save the town from Malo, and also save Malo's soul; Malo is equally determined to kill Father Keogh to prevent the church from threatening his hold over the town. But, you know, in a way that shows his deep appreciation and respect, and makes all his sleazy bandit followers feel a little weird about it!
"I tell you, I know this priest."
"And I tell you you love him," Vito spat, and something like jealousy showed in his eyes.
"If I love him it's just as well," said Malo. "I might underrate him otherwise. It's a good thing to know the value of someone you're going to destroy."
Malo, for the record, is not the only one who's impressed with Father Keogh. The good father also befriends an American drunk named Sam, who loves him very much, and an local preteen named Locha, who loves him uncomfortably much. Audrey Erskine Lindop is now two for two on plotlines about adolescent girls developing awkwardly intense crushes on her protagonists -- who, to my great relief, in both cases react with HARD YIKES, but it's not my favorite plotline! I feel like Lindop is maybe working through some stuff!
(It's also worth being aware of that the book is set in Mexico and Lindop definitely steps into a few of the pitfalls that one might expect from an English author writing about Mexico in the 1950s.)
Anyway, all that said, the main focus of the book is Father Keogh and Malo's EXTREMELY INTENSE Battle Of The Soul! !! !!!
MALO: You are arrogant in this faith of yours. You cannot believe it will not win. That makes you a fool -- and it turns me into a fool for admiring you for it.
FATHER KEOGH: I believe that any risk is worth the salvation of this man's soul.
I will put further plot details under a cut so anyone who might wish to get ahold of the book (or the film! there's a film, which I haven't seen yet, but will DEFINITELY be attempting to) can experience them for themselves unspoiled, but trust me, they are GREAT.
( Would I make up for a whole town of enemies? )
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT ETA:![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
movingfinger has turned up a SEQUEL? in which Lindop RETCONS Father Keogh's death?? and is HAUNTED BY MALO'S GHOST???? I need help reacting to this.
This turned out to be more difficult than anticipated, but after several years, I finally found a copy of another one of her books in the wild: The Singer Not The Song (1953), which is marketed on the cover flap as a deeply intense personal struggle! for the soul of a small town! between a priest! and a bandit! "The fact that they grow to like and respect one another in the course of their conflict adds considerably to its tension and excitement!" announces the back cover flap!
"Well, that sounds like it could be PRETTY gay," thought I, "but I don't want to assume. After all, The Way to the Lantern, while AMAZING, was not notably gay."
The determined priest Father Keogh meets the bandit Malo, who loves only cats (and is rumored to turn into one at night)!
[Father Keogh] was not prepared for the beauty he saw in Malo, explains the book, and then goes on for a paragraph about his bone structure!
That night, Father Keogh has his first Intense Malo Dream:
He turned round to ask for silence and when he turned round again he had his arms about the shoulders of Malo. [...] He gave Malo his Roman collar. The sword that Malo gave him in exchange was real. He could feel the heat of Malo's cheek pressed closely against his own [...]
"OKAY," I announced to myself, and also to Twitter, "I now feel safe assuming!"
Father Keogh is determined to save the town from Malo, and also save Malo's soul; Malo is equally determined to kill Father Keogh to prevent the church from threatening his hold over the town. But, you know, in a way that shows his deep appreciation and respect, and makes all his sleazy bandit followers feel a little weird about it!
"I tell you, I know this priest."
"And I tell you you love him," Vito spat, and something like jealousy showed in his eyes.
"If I love him it's just as well," said Malo. "I might underrate him otherwise. It's a good thing to know the value of someone you're going to destroy."
Malo, for the record, is not the only one who's impressed with Father Keogh. The good father also befriends an American drunk named Sam, who loves him very much, and an local preteen named Locha, who loves him uncomfortably much. Audrey Erskine Lindop is now two for two on plotlines about adolescent girls developing awkwardly intense crushes on her protagonists -- who, to my great relief, in both cases react with HARD YIKES, but it's not my favorite plotline! I feel like Lindop is maybe working through some stuff!
(It's also worth being aware of that the book is set in Mexico and Lindop definitely steps into a few of the pitfalls that one might expect from an English author writing about Mexico in the 1950s.)
Anyway, all that said, the main focus of the book is Father Keogh and Malo's EXTREMELY INTENSE Battle Of The Soul! !! !!!
MALO: You are arrogant in this faith of yours. You cannot believe it will not win. That makes you a fool -- and it turns me into a fool for admiring you for it.
FATHER KEOGH: I believe that any risk is worth the salvation of this man's soul.
I will put further plot details under a cut so anyone who might wish to get ahold of the book (or the film! there's a film, which I haven't seen yet, but will DEFINITELY be attempting to) can experience them for themselves unspoiled, but trust me, they are GREAT.
( Would I make up for a whole town of enemies? )EXTREMELY IMPORTANT ETA:
movingfinger has turned up a SEQUEL? in which Lindop RETCONS Father Keogh's death?? and is HAUNTED BY MALO'S GHOST???? I need help reacting to this.
